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Giffords, Kelly call for further gun controls in Oregon

Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband, retired NASA captain Mark Kelly visit the Center for Hope and Safety in Salem. They are advocating for more gun background check laws and increased domestic violence protection for survivors.

Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, who have long been advocates for gun control laws, made a visit to Salem on Wednesday to applaud the Oregon Legislature for expanding background checks to virtually all gun sales, but they had more to ask of Oregonians.

Sitting before journalists on the second floor of the Center for Hope and Safety's months-old, $1.6 million building in downtown Salem, Giffords and Kelly called for more controls to protect victims of domestic abuse from gun violence.

The couple have been lobbying for gun control laws since Giffords survived a gunshot to her head during a campaign event in 2011. The Center for Hope and Safety serves victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking.

Kelly emphasized that he and Giffords both own guns and believe in responsible gun ownership. He said that, as responsible gun owners, they believe everyone should pass a background check before buying a firearm, regardless of where they buy it.

"We're grateful to the leaders of your Legislature and your governor, Kate Brown, for doing the responsible thing and standing up to the very powerful gun lobby," he said.

Brown signed Senate Bill 941 on Monday, the culmination of a long campaign by Oregon Democrats to strengthen gun control. Republicans opposed the measure, and similar bills died in 2013 and 2014. The bill, backed by national gun-control groups, was made possible after Democrats achieved a supermajority in the 2014 elections.

Kelly testified for Senate Bill 1551 in the Oregon State Capitol last February.

The couple are now shifting their focus to the relationship between domestic violence and gun violence, Kelly said. They support Senate Bill 525, which would prohibit people who are the subject of a restraining order, or who are convicted of certain misdemeanor crimes related to domestic violence, from owning guns and ammunition.

Kelly said he also wants to see Oregon redefine domestic violence to include all intimate partners, not just those who are or were married or living together. That's what SB 525, in its original form, would have done. However, an amendment submitted Tuesday would keep the definition consistent with federal law.

Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, a chief sponsor of SB 525, said the amendment was necessary to get Republican support on the bill. Still, it's a significant step, because this kind of legislation has been impossible to pass in the past, she said.

"When a domestic abuser has access to a gun, it makes it five times more likely that that domestic violence situation is going to result in the murder of the woman," Kelly said. "Women in America are 11 times more likely to be murdered by a gun than other developed countries. And it doesn't have to be that way."